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Columnist Thunder Mod
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Denver Area, between Asgard and Krypton
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The Mighty Reviews 6/4/10
Sam Wilson’s Review
Captain America Black Panther: Flags of Our Fathers #3 (of 4)
Marvel Comics
Written by: Reginald Hudlin (damn straight)
Drawn by: Denys Cowan (like chocolate and peanut butter yo)
For those of you who have been sleeping under a rock, you may have missed Reginald Hudlin’s run on the Black Panther. He redefined the character for a generation. Under Reggie’s pen T’Challa went from b lister to a major player in the Marvel U, marrying into one of Marvel’s first families (the X-men, duh) and sitting at the table with Tony Stark and Reed Richards. He stepped away from T’challa for a minute, and now he’s back, back like a motherfu**er with Denys Cowan in tow. Denys Cowan? You may know him, you know, he redefined the Question back in the ‘80’s in one of that decades most critically acclaimed comic runs, co-founded Milestone Comics (Static, Hardware), had a healthy run on Batman and Detective Comics and most recently redefined the Joker for a new generation (the “Lovers and Madmen” storyline from “Batman Confidential”). Denys Cowan and Reginald Hudlin working on the Black Panther is destiny, a labor of love, chocolate and peanut butter or Cagney and Lacey even (tip of the hat to Big Daddy Kane). Announced this past year at SDCC (where you can frequently see the two of them walking the floor) this book has been on a lot of folks most anticipated list for awhile. That being said, did it live up to the hype? Hell yeah it did…
So yeah, Nazi’s heads on pikes in the jungle (goddamn that was bad a**). Okay, wait, I’m getting ahead of myself. Our story opens with the Howling Commandos, specifically Gabe Jones. Gabe is our narrator (more or less), and he takes us through his history with the Howlers, Nick Fury and eventually Captain America. The set-up is short and sweet, and soon enough the Howlers are en route to Africa? Why? Hitler needs vibranium to build his transatlantic missile, and he figures a bunch of Africans with spears can’t stop him from getting what he needs. Of course he figured wrong and that’s how we got Nazi’s heads on pikes (goddamn). Anyway, Uncle Sam doesn’t have to much faith in the locals either, so in come Captain America and the Howling Commandos. When they touch ground Captain America makes first contact, and sees the Wakandans can handle themselves. That’s great, but he (and America) wants them to be with the allies in the war. King T’Chaka (the Black Panther during WW2, T’Challas father) has no interest in the rest of the world and wants Wakanda to be left alone to its business. So yeah, Captain America (and by extension, America and the allied powers) is not cool with that so a fight ensues. It doesn’t go well for Cap, and the Howlers move in to back him up but are stopped by a bunch of bad a** Wakandan soldiers who have way more than spears. The Nazi’s haven’t given up either, and they’ve enlisted their own super soldier to retrieve Wakanda’s vibranium and yes. I’m guessing there will be more Nazi’s heads on pikes (goddamn). The second issue has Captain America and the Howlers aiding the Black Panther in battle, and end up staying as his invited guests. Cap has an agenda though, he believes the Wakandans can’t protect themselves and need to become part of the allies so they can be sure the vibranium will stay out of Nazi hands. The Black Panther wants no part of this and really doesn’t give a crap what Cap or the US government thinks, but its okay, he’ll humor them for now. Anyway, The Red Skull, in addition to having his own super-powered Nazi assholes enlists the help of the White Gorilla (the Man-Apes grandfather I guess). Meanwhile, Nick Fury enlists Gabe Jones to steal the Vibranium from the Black Panther because he feels the Wakandans are incapable of taking care of themselves. It all goes to sh** though when the Super Nazi’s attack, forcing The Panther and Cap to engage while Nick Fury and the Howlers sneak away to attack the Nazi base camp, and yes, things look hairy but I’m fairly certain this is going to end with more Nazi heads on pikes…
This book is the sh**. Sorry, I have no other words. Reginald Hudlin speaks to the fans, and, goddamn, does he speak well. I mean seriously, Nick Fury and the Howling Commandos, Cap, the Black Panther, the Red Skull and Baron Von Strucker heading for a big showdown? Drawn by Denys Cowan? Yeah. Nuff Said. Buy the book, buy the eventual trade, put the cover art as your iphone wallpaper, screw everything else. Classic storytelling is back, yo, and its about goddamn time.
Wktf’s Reviews
Avengers: Prime #1
Marvel Comics
Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
Drawn by: Alan Davis
Cover by: Alan Davis
Norman Osborn’s Dark Reign and Siege on Asgard may officially be finished, the Skrulls Secret Invasion was defeated last year, Marvel’s remaining mutants have found their post-House of M Utopia, and the Avengers have ReAssembled finally after Avengers Disassembled but, from this issue alone if no other proof were needed, the impact and ill feelings from Civil War still remain and still need to be reconciled. And though Thor was officially dead during Civil War, the Thunder God clone created by Stark and Richards created just as much ill will with him as Stark’s Civil War stance has with Steve Rogers. Enough for Steve to address this directly to Iron Man’s face in a serious dressing down at the beginning of this book. But it’s actually Thor, in a way so atypical of Bendis’ writing, who quietly but firmly puts both his comrades in their place as they begin their inspection of the fallen Asgard.
The premise of this book is that Thor, Iron Man and the shieldless Steve Rogers (but only temporarily, you’ll have to pick up the book to see what I mean) are whisked to an unknown reality and must learn not only to reignite their common bond of friendship as Marvel’s “big three” but must relearn how to work together if they’re to survive this ordeal and return home. This series actually is a side-bar story post-Siege but pre-launch of the multitude of Avengers titles. After Steve and Iron Man are led by Thor to Heimdall’s chamber, the All-Seeing Asgardian’s Observatory from which his brethren travel to and throughout the Nine Realms, and the unstable nature of this magic portal becomes apparent, then of course all hell breaks loose. Or, more specifically, a spectacular mystic rainbow colored portal whirlwind does it’s job.
With such a powerful cast as our three protagonists, I’d say the star of this show is Alan Davis. Sure, they guy’s a bona fide superstar artist but despite decades of incredible art I feel secure in saying this is some of the very best work of his career. His versatility is really impressive. Whether portraying Thor’s sorrow through his quiet demeanor, the violence of the aforementioned mystic whirlwind, the passions flaring with both Iron Man and Steve and they lock horns or, most especially, taking Steve into a melee of trolls and elves where his acrobatic and fluid fighting style has rarely been so well rendered, Davis is absolutely at the top of his game here. Props to Bendis, too. His typical verbosity is well restrained here and he really nails a general sentiment of tension mixed with pain and sorrow so appropriate to this story. And frankly, when one elf says of Rogers, “It’s only a Midgard rat! How many will it take for you to stop this?” just before he gets a fist to his jaw, I couldn’t help smiling thinking of the many times Stan sent Cap into battle against hopeless odds only to have someone in the gang of attackers say, “He’s only one man!” Though I was a little underwhelmed by the (semi) exposed threat on the last page, overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this read. Important relationships mixed with action and adventure at its best. This book most definitely is my pick of the week.
Superman/Batman Annual #4
DC Comics
Written by: Paul Levitz
Drawn by: Renato Guedes
Cover by: Art Geam
What a treat for anyone who’s a fan of the Batman Beyond animated series! Fast forward to Gotham City of the not-so distant future and we find the Terry McGinnis version of Batman swooping down on two Metropolis thugs mugging a green haired Gothamite. But what brings criminals from Metropolis to Gotham? That’s certainly what the aged Bruce Wayne, with his trusty hound Ace at his side, would like to know. Apparently, there’s a “ghost” in Metropolis that’s frightening away the riff raff and, to Bruce’s point, while common criminals may be superstitious and cowardly, they’re not so imaginative that they’d make up a threat like this. Something is frightening them enough to send them even to Gotham. And some of these thugs are peddling street drugs laced with Kryptonite. Of course, this is enough for Bruce to send Terry to Superman’s old stomping ground.
Now the last time we saw Terry and Superman together was on an episode of Batman Beyond when Starro had taken control of Superman for a period of years. With Terry’s help, Superman freed himself from Starro’s influence but not without losing those years of his life. Now Terry’s back in Metropolis trying to identify this “ghost” menace while, at the same time trace the Metropolis Krptonite drug activity back to its source. Terri recounts the story from the animated series which is a nice nod by Levitz to Paul Dini. Naturally, where the Kryptonite drugs are concerned, Bruce is one step ahead of Terry but allows Terry to investigate on his own, an investigation that not only brings him face-to-face with his real target but also unites him with the other hero of this dual hero title.
I thoroughly enjoyed this little romp through memory lane, a little ironic as it’s a story set in the future. But I really love the old Batman Beyond series and found this tale captured much of that series feel. The final punishment of the story’s villain seemed more than fitting and there even was a reference to the just completed War of the Supermen which, I thought, showed some pretty solid editorial coordination. But, more to the point, Levitz and Guedes cranked out a fun but different little one-and-done Superman/Batman story. Even if there’s some conflicting evidence as to who’s paying to put the flowers on Lois’ grave.
Bram Stoker’s Death Ship #1
IDW Publishing
Written by: Gary Gerani
Drawn by: Stuart Sayger
Covers by: Cliff Nielsen & Stuart Sayger
The subtitle of this comic book is “The Last Voyage of the Demeter,” and fans of Bram Stoker’s Dracula know that the Demeter is the ship that carried Dracula from Varna to Whitby Harbor in London, England in 1897. Leaving Jonathan Harker trapped in his castle with his three undead wives, the next we see the Lord of Vampires is when he leaped to the British shore from the wrecked Demeter in the form of a massive wolf, leaving a vessel empty of its crew but for the poor dead Captain strapped to his wheel and his diary stuffed in his jacket pocket. The diary recounted the ship and crew’s experience in the novel, but this series also tells the story of this truly hellish voyage.
This comic came out two weeks ago, actually, but my comics shop sold out quickly. Fortunately, my lcs owner ordered more and greeted me this morning as I came into his shop with this issue in hand. I opened it to find a darkly painted story that takes us into the lives of the crew, including a rather savage man named Anatole, a minster or Constantine, a young boy and, of course, the Captain. The day seems sunny enough as, at dawn, the crew loads six crates of rarified soil from the Carpathians delivered by Szgany Gypsies. But as the sun begins to set and Anatole takes a hit from a bottle in the waning light, a sound catches him off guard that he determines must be nothing. And so our story gets underway as the figure of a tall, thin man is seen emerging from the companion way, travel along the deck and, sure enough, the next morning a crew member is missing.
This comic is a terrific read for any fans of classic horror films. In fact, I’d go so far as to say the storytelling very much feels like a film. The murky shadows, the slow build and mysterious movements, and the danger which we all know is brewing in this terribly confined space. As a Dracula fan, I’m not sure I’ve seen this story pulled out from the novel and recounted in any medium, making this a pretty original take on a tale that’s been around for over 100 years. The stunning cover by Cliff Neilson grabbed me right away and I was hooked by the rest of the book. Even though I already know how this tale must end, the fun here will be in the telling more than the tale itself, and I’m anxiously looking forward to June 30th when issue #2 comes out.
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I need to read this.
